WFMU has a great old story on "Sesame Street": "When Newt Gingrich's Contract with America threatened to cut their funding in 1993, PBS's allies arranged for Big Bird to speak on the floor of Congress. The non existent yellow creature addressed a full session of the House Of Representatives in November, 1993, and the over-sized puppet's persuasive talents proved to be significant, as funding for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting (CPB) was ultimately maintained."